Jordon Perlmutter dies

Shock waves permeated the Jewish community as news was announced last Sunday, Dec. 6, that Jordon Perlmutter had passed away.

On rare occasion, an epic passing strikes our community, which, from one end to the other, seems to walk through the coming days in a daze.

One thinks back to the sudden passing of Rabbi Samuel Adelman in 1966, for example, just three years after the John F. Kennedy assassination shut down the country. The same thing seemed to transpire in the Jewish community a few short years thereafter.

The same response has greeted the passing of other beloved rabbis. This time, it was a beloved lay leader who evoked this response.

Jordon Perlmutter was a master builder who changed the shape, and the idea, of Denver.

He was the architect behind Shalom Park (now Shalom Cares).

He was a supporter of major charities and individuals down on their luck, and he did it all without fanfare. It was known: If Jordy was involved, it was a credible undertaking.

He was a steadfast friend of this newspaper. We, like so many others, will miss him dearly.

The IJN has prepared a special section (Section B) in his memory, available in the Dec. 11 print and digital edition.

The Intermountain Jewish News is a weekly independent newspaper founded in 1913, covering the Jewish communities of the Front Range.

The IJN is a member of the American Jewish Press Association, Colorado Press Association and National Newspaper Association. The IJN has garnered many first place awards in news writing, features, profiles, arts and criticism, editorial writing, special sections and graphic design.